Owings Mill, Md. (Apr. 9, 2015) - Alvernia University (9-9, 3-5) dropped its first double header of the season, falling twice to Stevenson University (10-11, 7-3) in Commonwealth Conference play on Thursday afternoon.
Stevenson made the most of its opportunities on the day, combining Crusader miscues with timely hits to take strong leads in both games.
In game one, the Mustangs posted 12 unanswered runs across the first four innings to establish their lead. The Crusaders had opportunities to put up runs early, leaving runners on in three of four innings including bases loaded in the first.
Alvernia notched three runs in the fifth.
Felicia McKenna opened the inning with a double, and
Brianna DePriest followed suit two batter later to plate McKenna.
Aly Shilling then singled to center to move DePriest to third, and a sac fly by
Shannon Grim crossed DePriest. Shilling would score Alvernia's final run off a double by
Amanda Turner.
In the 12-3 final, only six Mustang runs were earned.
In game two, Alvernia took to the board first, putting up three in the top of the first. DePriest opened the game with a solo shot to left to give the Crusaders the 1-0 lead. Grim would give Alvernia another baserunner after reaching on a fielder's choice and moving to second on a Shilling fly ball. Grim crossed the plate on an RBI single by Turner, and Turner advanced to third on a single down the line by
Mckenzie Miessau. Turner added the Crusaders third run on an infield single by McKenna.
The Mustangs posted a majority of their runs in the bottom of the first, capitalizing on inning extending errors by the Crusaders and collecting twelve unearned runs.
Facing a 13-3 deficit, Alvernia added another run in the second off DePriest's second homer of the game.
Stevenson added two more runs in the third to take the 16-4 lead.
The Crusaders collected two more runs in the fourth. DePriest was once again the catalyst for the offense, starting things with an infield single.
Stephanie Mancuso added a single to put runners on first and second, and a single by Grim advanced both runners who came around to score on an outfield error.
Alvernia returns to play on Saturday, facing Lebanon Valley College in Commonwealth Conference action. First pitch is set for 1:00 at Angelica park.
